Hidden Spirit

Chapter Ten: The Prince and His Wife

"Amelia...."

If she would have spoken, she might have said his name as well. The sound was breathless passing directly from his lips to her ear. A rush of warmth washed through her; he rushed through her. There were no words for it. The connection felt... odd. Odd in that once dormant way. Like an old memory she wanted to relive over and over, a dream teasing the edges of her conscience. She wanted more of this feeling. Her eyes were closed, her hands locked through silky strands of hair. Their lips melded together in a passionate hold of love and lust, a weightless release of energy all in its own.

She broke away, moving her cheek to his as his soft lips brushed against her collar. Her fingers stroked the nape of his neck, and as she opened her eyes, the silvery locks shone before them.

Her spirits roiled.

A knock sounded at the door; Amelia jolted up, gasping as if she were pulled out from under ice water.

"Amelia, sweetheart? Are you awake?"

At first she couldn't catch her breath. The ghostly touch of his lips still lingered.

"Amelia, may I come in?"

It took a long time for her to understand the words, and even longer still to recognize the voice. Her heart was beating hammering thuds through her chest.

"I-uh- one moment–" She lurched off the bed and reached for the nearest slip she had to throw over her thin shoulders. Before she reached the door she looked over her shoulder to the bed she'd left a mess of pillows and blankets. Must have been a restless sleep...

Lucia stood there with a wide smile stretched across her face, a maid behind her and Rosa behind the maid, sulkily leaning against the far wall. Amelia's brow raised.

"Good morning! Are you ready for today?" Lucia asked, walking into her room unbidden. The maid followed, and eventually Rosa did as well with an acidic look shot toward the dark-haired girl there. The others crowded around her bed as she hesitated to shut the door.

"Umm... excuse me?"

The maid placed her silk load on top of the bed. After a moment she realized it was a dress.

"Now, I know it isn't a big event, but I thought I'd have this made for you...."

Lucia's thin hands lifted up the shoulders of the silvery-grey gown, and Amelia was briefly reminded of the male from her dreams. Her stomach flipped.

"I– uhm, it's beautiful, madam, thank you."

"Oh," Lucia waved her hand. "Enough with the formalities. You are a daughter to me today."

Rosa scoffed in the corner.

Amelia, holding back her own little scoff, managed to smile at the woman in front of her.

"So!" Lucia clapped her hands. "First we must have you bathed! And then we can fix your hair, coal your lashes, and brighten your cheeks. Now, your hair must be something simple because this dress is so... intricate. It demands the attention! How do you like the braids?"

"I–erm—"

"I was thinking we could do this–" she stepped around and flipped Amelia's long hair from beneath the shawl. She pulled back the bangs. "We could braid these and pin them back, yes? How does that sound?"

Amelia sighed internally. She knew she was defeated. Lucia wasn't really asking her opinion, just checking to see if her own ideas sounded as good aloud. Knowing it wasn't worth her own opinion, Amelia sat as instructed on her chair before the vanity. Without worrying about her appearance she allowed Lucia and the maid to poke and prod her with clips, up-do her hair this way, braid it that way, and then have to watch as they took down their experiments for her bath. She sank in the warm water, realizing that this might be worse than their actual marriage.